FTC nominee Joshua Wright to skip Google cases

Joshua Wright, the Obama administration’s nominee to fill a Republican spot on the Federal Trade Commission, has informed congressional aides he will recuse himself from cases involving Google for two years to avoid any perceived conflict of interest.

Wright is expected to make that vow publicly during his Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing Tuesday, sources said.

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Wright, a professor at George Mason University, has never been paid directly by Google. But he has faced scrutiny because some of his academic research has been funded indirectly by the search company, and the nominee previously has defended the company against the FTC’s ongoing antitrust probe.

To allay those concerns, Wright told the Senate Commerce Committee staff that he’s not going to take part in agency enforcement decisions — antitrust or otherwise — regarding Google for two years, two sources confirmed to POLITICO on Friday.

Wright’s pledge to congressional staff came after a review by the FTC general counsel’s office, which recommended the recusal under President Barack Obama’s ethics policy calling for nominees to be recused from potential conflicts for two years.

Wright declined to comment Friday.

The Obama administration nominated Wright at the suggestion of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Republicans support Wright because of his long-standing, free-market, light-touch views on antitrust enforcement. But the nominee quickly faced criticism because his prior research cautioned against any antitrust probe of Google, a case the FTC is currently pursuing — albeit one that could be finished before the end of the year.

On one hand, recusal could help Wright win the support of lawmakers who may have been on the fence about his nomination. The panel’s chairman, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), did not comment Friday on whether he would press Wright on the matter at the hearing. However, if confirmed, Wright may also sit out other enforcements related to Google — cases involving privacy, for example, an area in which the company and regulators have tangled.